This invention consists of a process for obtaining brightly metallized surfaces of any plated or laminated material, be it flexible, rigid, or semi-rigid, such as paper, cardboard, pasteboard, photographic or plastic film and wood. By this process, one can obtain surfaces which are, or look brightly metallized without altering or damaging the material used. The process provides for a uniform metallization with a surface quality superior to that obtained with processes known until now. All kinds of uses can be made of the surfaces obtained such as offset printing, (FLEXO, HUECO, SERIGRAFIA--probably other printing processes) type-setting, etc. The practical and economic advantages of this process will be discussed in this description.
At the present, several processes exist for metallizing plated or laminated materials. One of the known processes consists in plating or applying a thin metallized coat to the material to be metallized. Aluminum is generally used the minimum thickness of which is seven microns. The two materials are joined using adhesive or cement. This process is known as laminating or gluing.
Another traditional process consists in the condensation of aluminum vapor on the surface to be coated or metallized. This surface is first prepared with a varnish or another binding material in order to assure adhesion of the metallic vapor. In certain cases the varnish or other material is not necessary. The vaporization of aluminum is done in special high vacuum rooms with an electric arc. This process is known as high vacuum metallization.
The aforementioned traditional processes have their disadvantages. With the first process, lamination, which is the most common, a prefabricated metallic sheet is joined by means of adhesive to the desired surface as has been explained. There are no limiting factors with regard to the type of support as long as its surface is satisfactory for gluing. The disadvantage is an economic one in that the price of metallic sheets is high.
The second or "high vacuum" process has the disadvantage of requiring support surfaces allowing for easy degasification, and in particular, the total elimination of humidity. Thus, the evenness, and fineness of the surface and its lustre are limited by those of the support itself. With a plastic support, the high vacuum metallization results in a brilliant finish, whereas with other materials, such as cardboard, fabrics, etc., the metallized finish is dull.